


in space (no one can hear you scream)

by bespokenboy



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Horror, M/M, Space AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 23:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3097250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bespokenboy/pseuds/bespokenboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baeksu's space adventures!</p>
            </blockquote>





	in space (no one can hear you scream)

  
  
"The time is 17:03 KST, we have landed on Planet ZYX-ZJS approximately twenty-five minutes ago. Atmosphere appears stable, approximately the equivalent conditions as Arizona, USA on Planet Earth."  
  
"Where's that?"  
  
"The captain is trying to complete his log,  _Baekhyun_ , and he would appreciate if all auxiliary questions could be withheld until the recording has ceased... But no, the captain does not know the whereabouts of Arizona, USA."  
  
"Well, that was a mouthful," Baekhyun whistles, crouching down to poke at a rock on the ground. He rolls it over, and a puff of vermilion dust rises in the air.   
  
"After the captain conducted an air quality test, it appears that ZYX-ZJS is composed of the same ratios of oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide as earth, as well as a few unidentifiable, but most likely harmless trace elements. Thus, the air is theoretically- hey! What do you think you're doing?!"  
  
With his oxygen mask tucked under his arm, Baekhyun breathes in the air. "Wow, hyung, you should take your mask off, too. The air here is great, so much less polluted than anywhere on Earth."  
  
"Removing your oxygen mask without express approval is strictly prohibited, Baekhyun," Joonmyun begins to chastise him. Baekhyun's face falls, and Joonmyun quickly says, "Your captain hereby grants you permission."  
  
Joonmyun removes his own headgear. Baekhyun is right, the air is pure and sweet. Joonmyun and Baekhyun have lucked out; most of the planets their friends have been sent to weren’t nearly as hospitable.   
  
“The captain’s scan for life forms reveals no sign of organic life by Earth standards. However, there is always the possibility this planets contains life forms unrecognizable by humans…”  
  
“Stop waffling, captain,” Baekhyun calls out from about fifty meters away. The barren atmosphere carries sound so well that Joonmyun thinks that Baekhyun is still just behind him.   
  
"The captain and his first mate will begin exploration shortly. Thus far, Planet ZYX-ZJS is ranked high in the capacity to sustain human life. End log 17:08 KST."  
  
Joonmyun tucks his voice recorder into his custom-designed fanny pack, the one that Baekhyun always teases him about. He makes sure to tease Baekhyun even harder if the first mate ever complains about the inconvenience of carrying his belongings in his pockets.   
  
"Baekhyun? Where'd you go?" He looks around, but his partner is nowhere in sight.   
  
He switches on the walkie-talkie built into his headset, but is met with crackly static. Perhaps if he's closer to the power station of their space shuttle, his signal will be able to reach Baekhyun's headset.   
  
When Joonmyun reaches the vessel, he's pleasantly surprised to discover that he won't have to test his theory after all. Baekhyun is waiting for him already, except he's sitting in the captain's seat, facing away from the entrance. All Joonmyun can see is a pale hand resting on the arm of the chair, the fingers curled slightly like a spider.   
  
Joonmyun frowns. "Baekhyun-ah, what are you doing there? Don't you know that's the captain's seat?"  
  
For a few unnerving seconds, Baekhyun stays in his position, staring ahead. Joonmyun rolls his eyes and approaches, swiveling the seat so that Baekhyun is facing him. Except, instead of Baekhyun, Joonmyun finds himself staring straight back at...himself.   
  
"What the hell?!" he yelps, staggering backwards.   
  
The real Joonmyun's expression slips into one of horror as he stares into the absent eyes of the other Joonmyun. He blinks at the real Joonmyun and stands up, slowly approaching him.   
  
"W-what are you," Joonmyun stammers. The double is only a couple steps away now. He is silent as he reaches out to the real Joonmyun, placing the heel of his palm on Joonmyun's forehead.   
  
"What the fuck!"  
  
For a second, Joonmyun feels like his brain has been drawn towards the front of his skull like a magnet. The double withdraws his hand, leaving Joonmyun to rub at his forehead and temples. He tries to toggle his headset on again to reach Baekhyun, slowly backing away from the double. This time, the signal goes through.   
  
"Baekhyun...Baekhyun, can you hear me? This is your captain speaking..." He tries to sound authoritative, but his voice cracks. "Baekhyun, please. Please answer."  
  
"My name is Kim Joonmyun."   
  
With wide eyes, Joonmyun looks up at his double, who smiles pleasantly back at him.   
  
"My name is Kim Joonmyun," the double repeats. His voice sounds like Joonmyun's, but his pleasant tone is superficial, almost robotic.   
  
"H-how did you know that?"  
  
"Joonmyun? Where are you?" Baekhyun's voice crackles to life over Joonmyun's headset.   
  
"Baekhyun, I'm back at the shuttle. There's something weird going on here... Are you okay? Have you seen anything?"  
  
"Yeah, you're not going to believe me, but-"  
  
"My name is Byun Baekhyun," a voice interrupts. Joonmyun's stomach drops because it sounds just like Baekhyun's.   
  
"Baek, just- stay calm, okay? Make sure your locator is on and I'll find you as soon as I can. Just try not to...provoke the thing."  
  
At the word "thing", the other Joonmyun cocks his head and frowns.   
  
"Thing?" the double inquires, the toothy smile still plastered across his face, incongruous with the sinister hardness in his eyes. "Thing...thing."  
  
"Joonmyun, can you hear me? I asked if my location is showing up on the GPS. Joonmyun?"  
  
"Oh shit, I think I made it angry," Joonmyun breathes, slowly backing away from the sulking double.   
  
"It," the other Joonmyun hisses. "It it it it it."  
  
"I-I'm scared, Joonmyun. The other me is looking at me a weird way... He doesn't look happy... Please say you'll be here soon." Baekhyun's voice is soft and brittle in a way Joonmyun has never heard it before.   
  
"I'll be there in just a few minutes, don't move, don't do anything..." Normally Joonmyun would insert the word "stupid" here because it's Baekhyun, but it seems highly inappropriate in the current situation.   
  
According to intergalactic government regulation, only the captain of the ship is allowed to be armed. There had been far too many incidents involving bad judgement resulting in careless slaughter when the space exploration program had just begun. The single defense Joonmyun had been issued is the laser equivalent of a .41 caliber Derringer pistol, good for short range, but not much else. He is only meant to use it when absolutely necessary, when he is certain that his life is in jeopardy.   
  
It’s their first mission together. Joonmyun had been ambivalent about Baekhyun being assigned as his partner, but Baekhyun had been overjoyed. The younger had told Joonmyun that he had always looked up to him when they were in training at the academy, that there was no one Baekhyun trusted more.  
  
“My life is in your hands!” Baekhyun had said with a cheeky grin as they prepared for take-off. It was ingratiating in the moment, but it’s all Joonmyun can think about right now.  
  
His mind is racing as he weighs his options. Should he deal with the anti-Joonmyun, or should he find Baekhyun first? He certainly can't leave his double in the space shuttle alone... Joonmyun can't tell if there is any sentience behind that empty smile, but the sinister blankness in the double's eyes...   
  
Joonmyun is terrified, and he reaches for his gun. In that same moment, the anti-Joonmyun seems to sense a sudden shift towards aggression in Joonmyun's behavior. Before Joonmyun can process what's happening, slim, cold fingers are encasing his throat in an iron grip. Blue and purple blossom against his creamy, pale skin as he splutters and chokes. He writhes and struggles for a few dizzying moments, but the double's grip is unrelenting and impervious to his attempts to escape.   
  
He finally fishes the gun out of his fanny pack and presses it to the anti-Joonmyun's chest. For a second, the double's eyes widen, mirroring the fear in Joonmyun's eyes, and it's like Joonmyun is looking at a reflection of himself. The notion of duality is shattered when Joonmyun presses the trigger, sending out a lethal pulse of electricity.   
  
The double slumps forward, and Joonmyun pushes the lifeless body away from him, his chest heaving. He drags the corpse out of the space shuttle onto the dusty ground outside. There's no time to contemplate what he's done--he checks Baekhyun's blinking dot on the GPS and runs in that direction.   
  
"Baekhyun? Can you hear me? I'm coming for you, Baek," Joonmyun says, his voice rising in panic when he is met once again with a buzz of white noise. Suddenly, the red dot indicating Baekhyun's location flickers out.   
  
"Fuck," Joonmyun growls, running harder towards where Baekhyun's dot had been.   
  
His heart stutters almost to a halt when he finds the crushed remains of Baekhyun's headset. But the sounds of grunts and thuds from nearby indicate there may still be a chance for Joonmyun to save him.   
  
"Baekhyun!" Joonmyun shouts, sprinting towards the two figures wrestling in the red dust.   
  
They freeze, and Joonmyun's grip on his gun starts to tremble when the two Baekhyuns look up at him with identical fear and pleading in their expressions. Baekhyun's double must have had the opportunity to completely absorb Baekhyun's personality, because the two Baekhyun's start talking, and Joonmyun has no idea which is the real one.   
  
"Joonmyun-"  
  
"-thank god you're here-"  
  
"He-"  
  
"-attacked me!"  
  
"You have to-"  
  
"-save me-"  
  
"Joonmyun!"  
  
"Please!"  
  
They're both pleading with wild, desperate eyes, their skin and clothing smothered with dust and tiny gashes. It's impossible to tell them apart, but their hands gripped around each other's necks remind Joonmyun that he has to make a decision before the anti-Baekhyun has an opportunity to kill Joonmyun's Baekhyun. He just has to figure out which one that is.   
  
"Joonmyun..." the Baekhyun on the left croaks. "I never told you this, but... I begged Yixing to cancel his assignment so I could be with you. I felt really bad about it, but there wouldn't have been any way otherwise for us to go on a mission together. Even though we've never talked before this trip... I've always really admired you... Please, hyung."  
  
His voice cracks on the word "hyung", and Joonmyun realizes how shuddery his own breathing has become. The Baekhyun on the right stares at the Baekhyun that had just spoken in wordless shock and a trace of anger.   
  
Joonmyun's vision is blurred with tears and his head is swimming, drowning. He's hardly able to stand with how much he's trembling.   
  
"Please, hyung, please, please, please..."  
  
His finger presses the trigger almost of its own accord. One Baekhyun slumps over, and the other Baekhyun shakily climbs to his feet.   
  
"T-thank you, hyung," he sobs. "I knew I could trust you, I knew you were gonna save me in the end."  
  
Joonmyun pats Baekhyun's back as the younger gently puckers a kiss to his cheek.   
  
When they make it back to the space shuttle, Joonmyun's mind is too chaotic with thoughts to even notice that the corpse of his double has disappeared. The engines growl to life, and Joonmyun can't wait to leave the creepy planet behind. Even though they've safely exited the atmosphere, Joonmyun can't shake the empty uneasiness he feels inside.   
  
The shuttle is on autopilot, and Joonmyun is pacing the perimeter of their space. Baekhyun hooks an arm around his waist, drawing him close.   
  
"What's the matter, hyung?" he murmurs.   
  
"I don't know why... This still just doesn't feel right."  
  
"Well then, let me try to make it feel right."  
  
Baekhyun's lips meet his for a gently probing kiss, and Joonmyun melts into his touch. When they break free from their embrace, Joonmyun is all smiles.   
  
"How did that feel, hyung?"  
  
"G-good. It felt...right. Thank you, Baekhyun." It seems like forever ago since the last time Joonmyun smiled. "I'm glad I made the right choice."   
  
For some reason, Baekhyun puts his face in his hands and his shoulders start shaking when Joonmyun mentions his choice.   
  
"...Baekhyun? Are you okay? What's the matter?"   
  
His heart starts thumping, but it nearly drops to his stomach when Baekhyun lifts his head and Joonmyun sees him laughing hysterically.   
  
"B-Baekhyun? What's so funny? ...Baekhyun, please stop laughing, it's scaring me. Baekhyun, please... Why are you laughing?"  
  
"Because you made the wrong choice," Baekhyun says between peals of mirth.   
  



End file.
